Author: John
The Truth
After I posted the previous article I sent everybody an email (via the handy Chappell Message Center form) asking if people wanted an email notification when new articles are posted. Not everybody copied everybody with their replies, so I thought I’d share some of the feedback — generally the answer was “not really” — and post some thoughts for posterity.
It seems family visits to the blog are few and far between, which was kind of what I thought. Nevertheless, for the time being, I plan to keep writing these things and providing pictures from time to time. There’s probably some element of gratification publishing stuff knowing the whole world could read it if they wanted. But for me the truth about these blog entries is they substitute for what I used to do with pen, paper, an envelope and a stamp. Actually, they’re more like the self-addressed stamped postcards mom sent me if it had been a little too long since my last letter or phone call. I still have a half dozen of them in a desk drawer, that I didn’t get around to sending back to her in time.
The nice thing about posting a blog entry instead of sending a postcard or a letter or even an email is it’s non-intrusive, there’s no pressure to acknowledge it, answer it, or even read it. People feel obliged to open a letter or an email; and with email people often feel even more obligated to send back a reply. Blog entries, on the other hand, as was pointed out in some of the email replies (see? my point exactly) can be left for a rainy day when there’s nothing else pressing. I should point out, though, I generally lock out comments to a blog entry after a month or so. Otherwise, I’d be deleting 100 to 300 blog spams a week. More about that in a future article, when I’ll answer one person’s question about “ermine” on New Year’s Day.
So, these are my little postcards, where I mostly write the kind of stuff mom used to like to hear about. I guess it was something unique about her. Now that I think about it some more, I think maybe these are really for her. I just don’t know where to send the ones in my desk drawer. I sure miss you, mom.
Fall’s A-Comin’
We went out for a little walk today, and fall was definitely in the air. People were still mowing yards, washing cars, and doing summer stuff, but the air had that “better than summer” feel and smell. Not to knock summer smells, especially the smells of flowers, freshly cut grass, sizzling steaks on outdoor grills. I don’t mind knocking the “feel” of Kansas summer, though. But, that’s not really the reason for this article.
Becky got new glasses a couple weeks ago. Kim wondered how they looked and asked for a photo. So, it seemed like a good time to take a picture for her. I figured, long as I was photographing Becky, we’d have her get one of me. It’s rare I don’t look goofy in a photo, but she caught a rare moment. Hers came out good, too. So, I put ’em together.
| Can be seen at my Flickr collection, (really the best view) or you can click the little pic here to see bigger pic. One of us is actually flipped 180 degrees (mirror image). Can you tell which? |  |
Georgina Chappell
October 3, 2006
Genealogy, General
7 Comments
John
I received an email from our cousin Adrian Sheppard, who visited the UK last year. While there, he located a document about the history of the Hillesley Baptist Church, with the following entry:
Hillesley Baptist Church 1730-1980, by Kathleen CHAPPELL Page 18. “Three members, Frank Cooper, George Davis and Jesse Chappell, emigrated to America in 1906. George Davis later returned from Missouri, bringing an American wife. Frank Cooper trained for the ministry, achieved his doctorate and was for many years a Baptist minister in Decatur and in Princeton, Illinois. Jesse Chappell also became a Baptist minister but did not keep in contact with this Church, so no details of his ministry are known.”
Adrian was also kind enough to provide a certificate of birth for Jesse’s sister, Georgina. The following links will bring up either a jpg image or pdf file. Note the absence of identification of the father, as was the case with Jesse’s certificate. It indicates the father’s occupation as “domestic servant”, however, this may actually have referred to Charlotte rather than the father. I’ve noticed, however, that the certificate gives Georgina’s date of birth as Jan. 1, 1807, obviously an error. The upper portion of the certificate recites that it’s an 1861 birth which is consistent with information we already had. Note, also, that her birth name is given as Georgina Rose, rather than Sarah. One of Jesse’s brothers, Charles, had children whom he named “Jesse” and “Rose”, apparently naming them after his brother and sister.